But you’re a hockey fan!
Elisha Cuthbert: Actually, I’m pretty conservative and anti-confrontational. I’m not a big fan of confrontation—that’s probably the Canadian in me.

Really? I thought most hockey crowds go nuts for fights.
Elisha Cuthbert: I think the worst would be watching Ultimate Fighting, you know? Hockey can get really aggressive and fights definitely break out, but they’re regulated and there are officials there. It’s almost calculated. I think football’s a lot harder to watch sometimes.

Independent co-producers Gemma Hooley and Chris Nelson have spent most of the last eight months trying to show a different side to the game, seen and heard through the eyes and the voices of Capitals veteran forward Brooks Laich and rookie defenseman Karl Alzner….

“There is very little sports on NPR, and certainly not much hockey,” said Hooley, a 40-year-old South African who narrates the features. “Chris and I thought there were so many stories that could be told, and we thought we could do it with sound. We’re not interested in the games in general. We just thought we could follow two players through the season on and off the ice and explain the game in a thoughtful way, especially what it takes to play at this level.”

I’m having a blast. Outside of the success I’ve had this year, you still get to come to the rink every day and play hockey. You’re playing a game every day. That’s pretty incredible.

I’ve gotten a little bit of everything from the fans since I’ve been here. There have been phone numbers handed to me at events. I’ve had fans wait at the hotel for me after games, because they know all the rookies are staying there. One girl wrote me a poem that she made me read out loud back to her. It’s flattering and it’s nice to be noticed. It’s been fun spending time with our fans and they’re second to none.

The news doesn’t get much worse than this for a 30th place NHL team playing without it’s All-Star goaltender. But the Islanders just announced that center Doug Weight, who suffered a sprained medial collateral ligament in the second period last night against the Devils, is out for six weeks.

TORONTO (February 12, 2009) – Montreal Canadiens forward Tomas Plekanec has been suspended for two games, without pay, for an incident involving Edmonton Oilers defenseman Denis Grebeshkov during NHL Game #809 last night, the National Hockey League announced.

At 4:29 of the second period, Plekanec took down Grebeshkov from behind, resulting in an injury to the Edmonton player. He was assessed a minor penalty for tripping on the play.

Even if it is sometimes easy to forget, Steve Yzerman actually does have a day job.

Officially, he is the Detroit Red Wings’ vice president/hockey, which places Yzerman just between general manager Ken Holland and vice president/assistant general manager Jim Nill on the NHL team’s administrative pecking order.

But nowadays, wherever he goes and whatever he does, Yzerman is primarily identified as executive director of Canada’s 2010 men’s Olympic hockey team.

GLENDALE, ARIZONA—Phoenix Coyotes General Manager Don Maloney announced today that the Coyotes have recalled defenseman David Schlemko from their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage. In addition, center Kyle Turris has been assigned to the Rampage.

Turris, 19, has recorded 6-10-16 and 17 PIM in 50 games with the Coyotes this season. The 6-foot-1, 180-pound Turris was selected by the Coyotes in the first round (3rd overall) of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.

After the Canadiens’ fourth consecutive loss against the Oilers yesterday, it is clear that the Canadiens players don’t want to play for their coach anymore. They have lost nine of their past 11 games, during which they scored only 25 goals (2.27 GF per game) and surrendered an astounding 48 goals (4.36 GA per game).

The Habs have lost their last seven road games and have still four road games to go before returning home on Feb. 21 against Ottawa.

Carbonneau keeps juggling his lines like a Cirque du Soleil juggler, trying to find some chemistry among his players, but since they don’t play together for more than a few shifts, it’s hard to build chemistry.

Carbonneau doesn’t have a game plan. The Canadiens don’t fore-check, can’t make a good first pass, are unable to clear the front of the net, don’t finish their checks, and don’t win one-on-one battles. They clearly need to go back to basics; however, they don’t practice. Carbonneau prefers sending them to a bowling alley to hone their shooting skills.

The Canadiens are lucky to have registered that many points this season, because they’ve been sloppy most of the season, but they have been able to win some games because of their talent. The problem is that the farther we get into the season, the harder it is to win games without working, and the Canadiens don’t work. As soon as they get scored on, they stop hustling and playing hard; they simply give up.

When you give up, it means you don’t care, and that’s the job of the coach to make the players care, which is not happening right now.

I know that Bob Gainey and Guy Carbonneau are close friends, but it’s time to put an end to their working relationship, especially since Gainey can’t find a trading partner just yet because of the salary cap. We are still three weeks away from the deadline, and the Canadiens can’t afford to wait that long to make changes.

The Senators waited way too long before canning Craig Hartsburg, as I had predicted on Jan. 7, 2009 here > Hartsburg to be fired (Hartsburg was fired at the beginning of February).

GM Bob Gainey must make his move NOW! Time to put a veteran coach behind the bench—someone with extensive experience like Larry Robinson, Bob Hartley, or John Tortorella.

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